Bacon won't crisp

[Epicurohn]

I've tryed more than 8 different recipes for making US style smoked bacon. Tryed curing with table salt, kosher salt, refined salt, and table salt; tryed sugar, brown sugar, molasses, un-refined sugar, honey and maple sugar; tryed the picnic, butt, belly, and side. When fryed bacon won't crisp.

The cure:

� cup salt (50 grms)
� cup sugar (50 grms)
2 tsp Cure #1 (12 grms)

Cured in fridge 6 days. Rinse well, De-salt in water in fridge overnite. Rinse. Dry @ ambient 2 hrs. Dry in 130�F smoker for 30'. Smoke 6 Hrs @150�F with heavy smudge. Roast @350�F 'till internal 150�F. (This was my lattest attempt to try obtain a crisp when frying the bacon. Ive also tried Roasting @175�F and hiegher temps 'till internal 150�F. What am I missing in ingredients or process that will not allow my product to crisp?

Any comments?

David

[jpj]

the cure was for how much meat?
maybe the overnight soak could be skipped
are you frying in extra fat, or just doing straight into a hot pan?
have you tried grilling it? any difference?

[Paul Kribs]

As jpj says, skip the overnight soak. One of the actions of the salt is to draw out the natural moisture within the meat and by soaking it in water overnight it will act like a sponge and take back in as much moisture as it can. Just wash it and pat it dry with absorbant kitchen paper and then leave it to dry out for up to a day.

I generally grill my bacon and dependant on the amount of cooking time and how thinly I slice it determines how crispy it turns out.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Epicurohn]

Paul: On my first batches the product came out too salty, even with spice kits (Hi-Mountain Buckboard Bacon). So I introduced the overnite soak to remove some of the salt.

If I keep frying for a long time I'll get a dehydrated slice of ham. In fact that's exactly what my product comes out to be, ham.

jpj: I'll try frying in extra fat. This was for 5#.

Thanks,

David

[Epicurohn]

Just fryed some rashers of Honey Cured Bacon smoked with Hickory:

50 grms Salt
15 grms Cure1
� cup honey

Cure 14 days in fridge. Wash well. Soak in water 2 hours. Smoked 4 Hrs. @170�F with heavy to medium smoke.

Still burns a little, delicious aroma, very tasty, a bit dry, NO crisp. It seems like a good bacon for stews.

Will eliminate the soak, will reduce the honey to 1/3 cup.

Thanks,

David

[jpj]

at 170f aren't you cooking it already? perhaps if you could just cold smoke, then cook in your preferred way you might get a better crisp, less honey will definitely reduce the burning

[Epicurohn]

At what temp do you suggest to Cold Smoke? For how long?

David

[Wohoki]

170F will cook the bacon before it's smoked. In Europe, bacon is smoked at a temperature below a maximum of 82F for as little as 1 day or for as long as you like (depends on how smokey you like you bacon ).

[jpj]

i'm not quite sure of the temperature, they go up high (maybe 10ft - got access to a big chimney) for two days (like wohoki said, time is a matter of taste - based on equipment) of nearly continuous cycles (lit first and last thing of the day). probably around the 25c/77f level or lower. they sometimes come out a bit early or later, depending on the "doneness" of the look of them. using oak as the fuel.

digression: have also found that cold-smoking pastrami for a couple of days at the same height before cooking, led to a fuller smokey taste.

[Hobbitfeet]

I've found that keeping the bacon for three to four weeks in double layer muslin bags in a dryish cool area dries and matures the bacon, giving, in my opinion a better flavour and a crisper finish.

[DarrinG]

When I do my bacon I smoke it at 140 until I get the color I like then I bring the smoker up to 180-190 until I hit 150. I find that to be fine.

Also I have noticed that with home cured bacon you have to cook it on medium to medium high heat. Since commercial bacon is brine injected and ready within 15 minutes, commercial bacon has a whole lot more water content in it the bacon produced at home.

Also another cooking method you can try baking it. It results in nice flat even strips of bacon. Great for sandwiches

Place the strips of bacon onto a sheet pan fitted with a rack and place into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Remove from rack and drain on paper towels. Enjoy.

DarrinG[/quote]

[wittdog]

I've had good results brine injecting my bacon.....instead of the overnight soak..rinse the bacon with water...I also cook mine in a cast iron skillet at med heat..it crisps up nicely.
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=2118

[dougal]

I'd suggest that crisp bacon is more about the meat and how you cook it, than about how you cure it.

Start with what we Brits call streaky bacon. In the US I think its called "belly bacon" - you do NOT want nice lean loin ('side'?).
Slice it thinly. (If its too thick it gets tough and chewy rather than crisp.)
Fry it till the fat starts to 'render' out. (So gentle frying rather than fierce.)
Then put on a paper lined plate in a low oven (250F? 120C?) until you are ready for it. It'll be crisp. Probably brittle!

I don't think this has anything to do with hot vs cold smoking. But if I'm wrong, I'd like to know.

[dougal]

Also another cooking method you can try baking it. It results in nice flat even strips of bacon. Great for sandwiches

Another "flat cooking" method I've heard of (but never bothered to try) is the concept of baking it, using two identical baking trays, nested together, with the bacon sandwiched between them. I think that was from Mr Rhodes, but for some reason he's not on my bookshelf.

[Big Guy]

I smoke my bacon almost the same as Darrin . I smoke it at about 140 with a heavy smoke for about 4 hrs then increase the smoker temp to about 160 until I get an internal temp of 142 . I then let the smoker die, and hang the bacon in a cool place for a week to mellow. Yummy!